PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRCT ? Bioinformatics Core The SC INBRE Bioinformatics Core uses a variety of approaches to promote Bioinformatics across the SC INBRE Network: The Core provides support for library services to the PUI faculty; it provides training, both in the form of didactic courses that can be shares across institutions, and as guided site visits to core facilities; workshops; summer undergraduate training; graduate student training; and training of postdoctoral fellows. The Bioinformatics Core directly supports research and the application of Bioinformatics approaches to biomedical questions, by supporting the Bioinformatics Pilot Project Program, and by providing direct assistance to faculty for the preparation of grant applications, from experimental design to letters of support. The Bioinformatics Core and affiliated facilities provide genomics and proteomics services, data analysis tool and data storage facilities. Last, but not least, the Bioinformatics Core promotes communication across the network by organizing seminars, site visits to network institutions, and symposia. In the next phase of SC INBRE the Bioinformatics Core will continue and expand those activities, doubling the support to the USC School of Medicine Library in order to provide access to electronic library resources to PUI faculty in the expanded SC INBRE III Network. The Core will also expand the Bioinformatics Pilot Project Program, bringing the number of awards made every year from 4-5 to 10. The Core will continue to train undergraduate students, graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, promoting interactions and collaborations by the adoption of WebEx, which allows for meetings to be held electronically with a large number of participant. By utilizing WebEx, the Core will organize regular meetings of the pilot project recipients and their students; workshops; training sessions (with groups or one-on-one); and seminars that will help increase the networking aspects of the Pilot Project program within SC INBRE. The Core will also continue to develop and share Bioinformatics tools, particularly in the areas of next-gen sequencing data analysis, and modeling of protein structure.